The Portland Timbers will play their first road match of the season as they take on the Colorado Rapids at 3 p.m. Saturday (TV on Root, radio on KXTG 750). The conditions could be challenging, with the Denver-area forecast calling for snow.

Timbers beat reporters Geoffrey C. Arnold and Jamie Goldberg, and community bloggers Kip Kesgard, Rick Curwen and Jennifer Kesgard offer their predictions below. How do you think this match will play out? Vote in our poll, and add your predictions in the comments section.

Geoffrey C. Arnold: Timbers 2, Rapids 1. Perhaps playing an away game will take a little pressure off the Timbers. That means they'll be much more productive with their finishing, because they always create plenty of scoring chances on offense. The defense will be solid, as usual.

Jamie Goldberg: Timbers 1, Rapids 1. The Colorado Rapids are coming home after a quality road tie to the New York Red Bulls. The Timbers have yet to win a game this season, and it will be a difficult task for them to get their first win in Denver. But the Timbers have also shown that they are a tough team to beat, and their defense has yet to give up a goal from the run of play. Portland's stingy defense should help the Timbers get an important point on the road.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/7901046/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;What's your prediction for the Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids match?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Kip Kesgard: Timbers 2, Rapids 1. I think the Timbers will finally break out of their doldrums and it will happen on the road — in a place where Portland has struggled from time to time. It looks like Pa Modou Kah might be back for the defense, and Steve Zakuani has been able to extend his minutes, so the team will be as healthy as it's been all year. The Rapids have been adjusting to new coach Pablo Mastroeni, although he just officially took over as manager days before the 2014 MLS season. Colorado drew with New York in Week 1 but then had Week 2 off, so the Rapids have had lots of time to prepare for the Timbers. However, I think Portland's offense will be enough to get the full three points.

Rick Curwen: Timbers 1, Rapids 1. This is the ninth meeting between the two teams in MLS with the record slightly favoring the Rapids (3-4-1, 8 goals for, 12 goals against). The Rapids' defense ranked third in goals conceded (38) during the 2013 regular season, with eight of those goals coming from the Timbers. In their first match under new coach Pablo Mastroeni, the Rapids fought back to get a 1-1 draw against New York Red Bulls. Colorado's strength is in its midfield of Nick LaBrocca, José Mari and the creative Dillon Powers, but so far they've been unable to spark a misfiring forward line into life. Colorado is quite capable of absorbing pressure then counterattacking, using its speed on the wings, but a hamstring injury to defender Chris Klute has put a dent in those plans. It's also debatable whether Mastroeni would want to use those tactics for his first match in charge at home. We could see the return of the Great Wall of Gambia in defense as Pa Modou Kah, who suffered a hamstring injury against Philadelphia, replaces Norberto Paparatto, who tweaked his hamstring against Chicago. The Timbers need to get into their rhythm more quickly than they have so far this season, and hope the altitude doesn't take too much out of them in the second half. I'd bet on Steve Zakuani in place of Max Urruti. Snow is forecast for Saturday, the one-year anniversary of the U.S. men's national team's 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier, which took place at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in a blizzard.

Jennifer Kesgard: Rapids 2, Timbers 0. Injuries. Elevation. Snowmageddon. This may sound like a disaster movie on SyFy, but no, it's Saturday's match. The Timbers will be lucky to get out alive without an attack from a yeti or ice volcano in addition to their several likely conceded goals.